Anchoring mechanism



Dec. 10,; 1935.

w. A. KENNEDY ANCHORING MECHANISM Filed May 7, 1955 WOODFORD 4. KEHHEDY' Patented Dec. 10, 1935 ANCHORING MECHANISM Woodford A. Kennedy,Charlotte, N. C. Application May 7, 1935, Serial No. 20,257

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a drive for pick counters on looms and thelike, and comprises means for anchoring the drive on the cam or crankshaft so as to prevent turning movement thereof. This drive also has ananchoring device which is self-contained and which is not connected tothe loom usually been anchore or the floor therebeneath. I-Ieretofore,these drives for pick counters have d to the floor on which the loom issituated, presenting an obstruction to cleaning the floor beneath theloom and being objectionable in that respect.

It is an object of this invention to provide an anchor for the drive forpick counters on looms which is self-contained and is not aflixed to theloom or to the floor ated.

on which the loom is situ- It is a further object of this invention toprovide an anchoring device for the drive for a pick counter which isusually mounted on the cam or crank shaft and means connecting the camor crank and the shaft pick counter.

which comprises frictional the drive casing surroundin which drives theSome of the objects having been stated, other objects will appear as thewhen taken in conne description proceeds ction with the accompanyingdrawing, in which:-

Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a loom, showing the crank shaftin section and showing my invention applied to the loom;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detailed view partly in elevation and partlyvention in section showing the in- Fig. 3 is an elevation looking at theright-hand side of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 4-4 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken line 5-5 in Figure 2;

along Figure 8 is an isometric view lower end of the bushing looking atthe 3 Referring more specifically to the drawing, the

numeral 9 indicates the cam or crank shaft of the loom on which is fixeda worm H by any suitable means such as set screw l2. Surrounding thisworm is a casing comprising the portions l3 and I4 which have extensionson the ends thereof which are penetrated by the eye bolts l5 and IS. Theportions l3 and M as seen at the right of Figures 1 an d 2 a e a c y in.which shaft 24 a bushing 3| rungs;

is mounted a worm gear I I, said gear being driven by worm Worm gear I1is fixedly mounted on a drive shaft l8 mounted in vertically disposedholes |9 appearing in both of members l3 and M. The upper end of driveshaft |8 is 5 forked and has pivoted as at 29 a universal link 2| whichin turn has pivoted as at 22 a forked portion 23 appearing on the lowerend of drive shaft 24. Driven shaft 24 has a slot 25 in the upper endthereof which is penetrated by a pin 10 26 fixed in portion 21 ofanother universal connection similar to that appearing on the upper endof driven shaft l8. This upper universal connection is connected to apick counter 28.

The mechanism thus far described is conventional and it has usually beenanchored to the floor or a portion of the loom to prevent turningmovement of the casing comprising members l3 and I4 with relation to theworm In order to prevent this relative turning movement beyond apredetermined degree, and in order to allow a small amount of relativemovement between worm H and casing comprising portions l3 and I4, Iprovide a friction device which comprises the inverted U-shaped member25 30 whose lower ends are turned outwardly and are loosely secured inthe eyes on the upper end of eye bolts l5 and I6. I mount on the drivenwhich has slots 32 and 33 in the lower end thereof. 30

Surrounding this bushing 3| is a collar 34 which screw 35 is driven homethe bushing 3| will be compressed and will grip the driven shaft 24 sothat the bushing will be releasably held on the 35 driven shaft 24. Thebushing 3! projects upwardly above the collar 34 and has loosely andturnably mounted thereon a swivel member 36 which has a headed screw 31threadably secured in one side thereof which projects into a cavity 38in a plate 39.

Plate 39 has associated therewith another plate 43, the plates 39 and 43having the proximate edges thereof grooved for the reception of themember 30 and screws 4| and 42 are loosely mounted in plate 49 and arethreadably mounted in plate 39 so as to secure the two plates together.The plates 39 and 49 are so made that when the screws 4| and 42 aredriven home the U-shaped 50 member 39 will be gripped between the plates39 and 49 and held in this adjusted position. The position at which theparts will be adjusted on member 39 is determined by the angularity ofthe driven shaft on a particular loom as it extends 55 from its drive onthe crank shaft to the pick counter.

It is thus seen that a self-contained anchoring device has been providedand which, when set to adjusted position, will allow the shaft 24 withits bushing gripped thereon to rotate in the swivel 36 and the shaft 24will not be worn at this point.

Upon sudden strain being exerted by the worm II on worm gear l1, theremust be a certain amount of play in order to prevent the pick counterfrom being injured or destroyed by an unusual downward stress on theconnection 21 and its associated parts; It is seen that the upper end ofdriven shaft 24 is slotted and this gives a certain amount of play whichin connection with the natural resiliency of the'extended driven shaft24, which is usuallyrseveral feet long, allows a limited amount ofturning movement of casing comprising portions I3 and l 4 with relationto the fixed worm without damaging the parts. Additional play isprovided in the casing l3 and 14 around the pinion I I. It is seen thatthe pinion H, which is fixed on shaft l8, will be a1- lowed to move upor down a limited amount during the operation of the pickcounter.

Also, it is seen that by anchoring the casing surrounding the worm tothe driven shaft that a resilient anchoring structure is provided andwhich is self-contained and which is not in a position to obstruct thespace beneath the loom, and which is easily applied to any loom as inmany instances it is difficult to anchor the device to the loom itselfor to the floor without the manufacture of a special type of bracket andeven in such instances these brackets are obstructions to the cleaningof the loom or floor therebeneath.

In the drawing and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth inthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pick counter for looms having a shaft, a worm secured on theshaft, a casing surrounding the worm, a worm gear mounted for rotationin said casing, a drive shaft on which said worm gear is fixedlymounted, a driven shaft connected at one of its ends to said drive shaftand at its other end to the pick counter, the axis of rotation of saiddriven shaft forming an angle with the axis of rotation of said driveshaft, and means secured to the casing and to said driven shaft for 5preventing turning movement of said casing with relation to said drivenshaft.

2. A drive for pick counters for looms having a shaft and comprising adriving mechanism turnably mounted on said shaft, a casing sur- 0rounding said driving mechanism, a second shaft driven by said drivingmechanism, a driving connection between said second shaft and the pickcounter, the axis of rotation of said second shaft occupying a differentplane from the plane of 15 rotation of said driving connection, andinterengaging means connecting the casing to the said driving connectionto prevent relative movement between the driving mechanism and thecasing.

3. A drive for pick counters on looms having a 0 shaft, a driving membermounted on the shaft, a casing turnably surrounding said driving member,

a second shaft mounted for rotation in said casing and adapted to bedriven by said driving memher, a driving connection between the second2'5 shaft and the pickcounter, the axis of rotation of said drivingconnection forming an angle with the axis of rotation of said secondshaft, and means mounted on the casing and adjustably connected to thedriving connection to prevent an turning of the casing on said drivingmember.

4. A pick counter drive for looms having a shaft, a worm fixed on-saidshaft, a two-part casing surrounding said worm, a second shaft mountedfor rotation in said casing, a worm gear fixed on said second shaft, adriven shaft connected at its ends to the pick counter and to saidsecond shaft, a pair of bolts connecting the two parts of the casing, aninverted U-shaped member having its ends connected to said bolts,abearing perch 40 adjustably mounted on said U-shaped member, a

bearing turnably held by said perch, and adapted to support said drivenshaft for rotation, and

means for adjustably securing said perch on said U-shaped member toprevent turning movement 155 of said casing with relation to said wormbeyond 'a predetermined amount.

WOODFORD A. KENNEDY.

